1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing support to workers who must use their hands and arms to perform a task while they are standing or sitting in an unbalanced or awkward position. The method and apparatus of the invention can accommodate a worker or user of any size, shape or weight who might be performing jobs that call for, for instance, leaning backward and working overhead while sitting or standing or leaning forward while standing, such as leaning from the waist over an engine compartment In addition, the instant invention provides the worker with a sturdy and reliable but yet efficiently packaged device that is convenient and unobtrusive when in its operational position is mobile enough that it does not impede performance, and can be quickly and easily collapsed and folded, when the task is completed, to be stored out of the way.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In industry and business today, there are many jobs, such as working over large blueprints or sections of delicate material or underneath an airplane wing or automobile, that require the worker to bend at the waist forward or backward for a period of time. This bending can put severe strain on back or stomach muscles or on the legs or arms and there is usually fatigue and sometimes the possibility of a very costly accident. In some cases, it is possible to put some temporary support, such as a cushion, under part of the body, but this then causes a delay in job performance when the support must be taken up and repositioned, and the cushion might damage the work surface. Also in many jobs, varying the height or extending out over the work area is required and temporary cushions cannot be used at al.
There are known devices to assist a mechanic working on an automobile or the like. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,618,029, 4,542,806, 4,530,419, 4,397,374, 4,072,209, and 2,969,123 all disclose some form of mechanic's support. These devices have frame members that are held together by struts or scaffolding and provide a resting platform for a worker's upper body. Some of these inventions have a plurality of wheels fixed at the corners of a basically rectangular-shaped undersurface and others include a ladder extending upwards from the base. In a few instances, the device may be folded up for storage, but in these cases the worker is limited to the range that he can extend his arms to because of the limited size of support structure. Also, these devices are all limited to jobs where the worker's body position is leaning forward at the waist. In various jobs, there are quite different requirements for supporting different parts of the body, such as leaning backward while working overhead, where these devices are not useful.